Pulled Apart My Heart
by the-Mad-Majesty-of-Muchness
Summary: As Éponine is shot, Enjolras rushes to her side to hold her in his arms one last time. One-shot.
**I've been on a HUGE Enjonine/Les Mis kick lately, and I needed to get some of it out of my system, so...this is the result. Hope you enjoy it. :)**

 **DISCLAIMER: I am not dead, French, or a man. Therefore, I am not Victor Hugo.**

* * *

As the sound of a gunshot rang out, Éponine felt a horrible, searing pain rip through her body, spreading outward from a place between two of her ribs. She gasped and stumbled backwards, clutching at the source of the pain. She collapsed to the ground.

 _"Éponine!"_ a voice shouted.

She was looking at the blood on her hand, but when she heard footsteps running in her direction, she lifted her gaze and put her hand back over the wound, only vaguely surprised to see that it was Enjolras racing towards her. For the past two months, the _gamine_ and the revolutionary had been lovers in secret, choosing to keep quiet about it simply because Éponine was afraid of the news reaching her parents somehow and didn't want her father to go after Enjolras and hurt him. So not even Gavroche or Marius knew the truth, even though Éponine normally told them everything that was going on in her life because they were her brother and best friend.

Now, Enjolras threw his gun aside and fell to his knees beside Éponine, gently gathering her up in his arms as it began to rain.

"'Ponine," he said, "are you alright? How bad is it? Here, let me see."

"It's fine," she replied. "I'll be fine, it's...it's nothing. Alain, what are you doing? Everyone is watching, they're going to figure it out."  
"Then let them. I don't care. If your father finds out and comes after me, then so be it. I don't want to hide anymore, Éponine. I love you, and I don't care how many people know."

She smiled weakly.

"I love you, too," she said. "I hate what had to happen to prompt it, but I'm so glad you kissed me when you did, otherwise who knows where I would be right now? Probably still pining after Marius like a lovesick puppy."

"I did it as much for myself as I did for you," Enjolras said with a faint smile.

Éponine returned the smile, then winced, which made Enjolras' smile fall right off.

"Please, 'Ponine," he said, "let me have a look at it so I can see how bad it is. Or better yet, let's have Joly take a look and see if he can't patch you up."

Éponine directed her gaze over Enjolras' shoulder and saw Marius, Gavroche, and all the other members of Les Amis watching the couple. Most of them looked confused, but Gavroche only looked as if he were recieving confirmation of something he had already suspected, and Grantaire, for some reason, looked as if something about the whole thing was greatly disappointing.

She met Enjolras' gaze once more.

"No," she said, "if I'm meant to die tonight, then so be it."  
"For God's sake, Éponine, please don't talk like that. You'll be alright, I promise."

She smiled sadly and slowly shook her head.

"No, Alain...I won't," she said quietly. "I can feel myself getting weaker with each passing moment...I'm not going to make it. You have to let me go."

He pressed his lips into a hard line and shook his head stubbornly.

"I can't do that," he told her. "You know there's not a damn thing in this world that I wouldn't do for you, _ma rose,_ but that is the one thing that I simply cannot bring myself to do."

"Then at least give me two final promises before I die."

 _"Oui,"_ he said as tears began to gather in his eyes. _"Oui,_ anything. Just name it."

"First," she said, "that you won't give up once I'm gone. That you'll keep fighting, and that if you win tonight, you'll go through the rest of your life living it to the very fullest every day. Promise me that."

"Yes...Yes, I promise, 'Ponine. You have my word. What else?"  
"That after I have passed on...you shall kiss me one last time."

Enjolras slowly shook his head.

"No," he said. "No, I can do much better than that."

So saying, he cupped her face in his hand and pressed his lips firmly against hers. He poured absolutely everything he felt for her into the kiss, all the emotions that she had put him through over the last two months since their affair began, doing his best to make it the kind that managed to be firey and passionate, yet at the same time tender and gentle. They could both feel everyone's eyes on them, but neither of them cared. In that moment, all that mattered was their love, and everything else in the world fell away out of existance. Their lips molded together so well, and Éponine drew comfort from the feeling of his warm palm against her cheek.

They could have stayed that way forever if not for the need to breathe.

She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I love you, Alain," she said weakly. "Never forget that. I promise, I'll always be with you. I'm sorry. I...I..."

Her eyes became glassy and unfocused as her hand fell away from his cheek and her head fell back. A gentle sigh escaped her lips.

It was not followed by another breath.

Already soaked from the rain, Enjolras felt a new wetness, a hot one that contrasted with the chill of the raindrops, spill down his cheeks, and knew that the tears had come.

"Éponine," he whispered. "No, Éponine...Please, God, no...No, no, no! This can't be happening, no, _please!"_

He sobbed and held her limp body close, hunching over as if to sheild her from the rain and cradling her head in his hand.

"Why, God?" he asked the empty air. "Why did it have to be her, why couldn't it have been me, instead? What did she ever do to deserve this?"

He felt a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't even so much as glance at whichever of his friends it was.

"Enjolras," Combeferre's voice said. "She's gone. There's nothing more to be done. You have to let her go, _mon ami._ It's time to say goodbye."

Enjolras shook his head, his jaw clenched tightly.

"I can't," he said. "I can't do that, it would hurt too much."

"Apollo," another voice said.

He hesitated for a moment or so, then slowly lifted his head to look at Marius.

"Whatever her dying wish was," he said, "you have to make it happen. Whatever it was she asked of you..."

Enjolras gazed at his lover's limp form in his arms, then closed his eyes and swallowed before giving a single nod.

Without a word, he got to his feet, still holding Éponine's body, and carried her into the Musain, walking straight past everyone else without so much as glancing at a single one of them, keeping his gaze directly ahead the entire time. He laid her down on a wooden table, then folded her arms across her middle and planted a final lingering kiss on her lips.

He turned and went back outside, going over to where he had left his gun and picking it back up. He turned around to face everyone, every single one of them watching him. He looked around, meeting each individual gaze before he finally spoke, saying only three words.

"Make them suffer."

* * *

Later on, Enjolras and all the others lay dying. As he stared up at the stars, all he could think about was Éponine. He hoped she could forgive him for not being able to save her little brother. He could feel himself growing weaker by the minute. Every breath was labored and heavy, and the pain was excruciating, but none of that mattered now. He would be dead soon, and then he and Éponine could be together once more, this time without end.

His sister would probably be quite distraught to learn of his death. She would likely have to leave Paris and return home to their grandparents in Lavaudieu. But he wasn't thinking about the impact any of this would have on Adelaide, not really. He was only thinking of his beloved 'Ponine and all the things he would say to her when they were reunited.

He could hear her voice calling to him...

He felt a great calm and sense of serenity come over him, and found that he felt completely at peace.

When the darkness at last came to embrace him, he welcomed it like an old friend...


End file.
